Plan to travel to Croatia and Slovenia in September. I have not decided as of yet between single travel or in a small group tour.
Question One: Has anyone had positive experience on group tours to the above listed countries?
Question Two: Is it possible or viable to use bus transportation from Dubrovnik to Slovenia? Positive or negative input would be appreciated. Frankly, I don't drive a manual transmission car, and don't want to do on the job learning in Europe.
Travel in Croatia and Slovenia in September
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<< Question One >> I took a tour with Grand Circle Travel a few years ago and enjoyed the tour although in typical tour fashion we did not go to some of the places I would like to have seen and we had too much time in Opatia and Dubrovnik. Other than that the tour was good but I realized I'm not a fan of Slovenia and Croatia as there is minimal sightseeing and too much nature.
<< Question Two >> Of course it's possible but why would you want to spend that much time on a bus. You can take the bus to Split and then transfer to a train - preferable IMO.
This is the trip I took but in the reverse order (I started in Lake Bled and ended in Dubrovnik). Grand Circle is a leisurely tour company.
http://www.gct.com/Trips/2013/Dubrovnik-and-Beyond-From-the-Adriatic-to-the-Alps-2013.aspx
I don't think the OP will be taking the bus from Dubrovnik to Slovenia in one shot. The buses (and ferries) are comfortable and convenient. I've traversed the country with them a few times. Just ask once you get your itinerary worked out--many bus schedules can be found online.
If you want to travel independently in Croatia and Slovenia, it is quite easy to do - no need for a tour unless that is your preference.
There are a few well-off-the-beaten-track places that it would be difficult to reach by public transportation, the majority of places that you are likely to want to visit are easy to reach by public transportation, whether bus, ferry, train, or even plane.
You might want to check out the Rough Guide - it has great information about the kinds of transportation linking various places, along with their usual frequency and duration.
It's a beautiful area - enjoy!
I took a small ship cruise from Venice down the coast of Croatia and Montenegro. We visited Pula,Sibenik, Krka Falls, Split, Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar, Stari Grad, Rovinj and Kotor. All shore excursions were guided (you could leave the guide and go on your own if you wanted), admission costs to certain sites were included (e.g. the walls in Dubrovnik) and the cost was included. The ship was also small enough that it could dock, and you could just walk off directly into town (5 min. max), except in one instance, Dubrovnik.
I was traveling alone after I left Venice and really thought it was a great way to see a lot of Croatia without having to do much logistical work or heavy lifting (my luggage).
Delaine - please give a link to the cruise you took.
Delaine-I would be also interested in a link to the cruise you took?
I took a package from Tauck tours which included several nights in Venice before the start of the cruise. I had been to Venice twice before so I just did my own thing while I was there with my boyfriend. The link for that trip is http://www.tauck.com/tours/europe-tours/italy-tours/croatia-tour-dc-2013.aspx
I liked that option because I had travelled with Tauck before, and they provide transportation to and from the airport in Venice, hotel (Danieli), 2 tour directors on board the cruise, all included shore excursions, all gratuities, a nightly open-bar cocktail hour, daily afternoon tea, and the items I described above.
If you were to book directly with the cruise line, here is a link to the page for the Croatia & Montenegro cruise.
http://en.ponant.com/Cruises/All-our-cruises?destination%5B%5D=22999&periode%5B%5D=0&bateau%5B%5D=A&x=85&y=11&lang=eng-GB
The ship had just been launched several months before my cruise, and it was lovely. There were 2 restaurants, 2 bars, a "salon" where tea was served, a pool, a hair salon, small boutique, etc. Most all of the cabins have a nice balcony and are larger than I expected. You could dine pretty much whenever you wanted and with whomever you wanted. The food was good, for the most part. The ship is part of a French company, but the crew was composed of many nationalities, and most were very helpful and friendly. You could also get wifi internet service for a fee and could make calls to the United States (or whatever location you wanted), but they were very expensive (5-7 euros per minute, as I recall).